Combined bumper and weather strip for automobile doors



J. R. HUGHES Feb. 19, 1935.

COMBINED'BUMPER AND WEATHER STRIP FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS Filed April 16,1934 J 16 %M AT 0 Patented Feb. 1 9, l 935' UNITED STATES.

Lao-1,674

COMBINED BUMPER AND WEATHER STRIP FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS James E. Hughes,South Bend, Ind., assignmto The Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, Rockford,111., a copartnership composed of Seth B. Atwood and-James T. AtwoodApplication April 16, 1934, Serial No. 720,783

16 Claims.

This invention relates to automobile construegiving doubtful benefit forweather protection,

afforded no protection whatever against the infiltration of rain or snowinto the spaces between the door and frame with the result that the doorwas apt to freeze in place and make opening diflicult, if notimpossible. Hence, there is no question as to the advantage of sealingfrom without rather than from within. It is the principal object of myinvention to provide a weather strip of compressible resilient material,preferably sponge rubber, interposed directly between the outerprojecting flange of the door and the outer marginal recess in the frameinto which the flange projects, the strip being, furthermore, soconstructed and proportioned that it serves as a combination bumper andweather strip, serving bothto cushion the closing of the door and toseal the same against the weather, from the outside of the joint betweenthe door and frame.

Another object consists in the mounting of the strip on the door ratherthan on the frame and the forming of the strip generally V-shaped incross-section so as to contact the frame along two lines, whereby tosecure a. double seal and distribute the pressures on the strip incidentto cushioning the closing of the door, and make for lesswear and tear onthe strip. 1 prefer to have the strip so constructed and arranged on theflange of the door that one longitudinal bead of the strip makessubstantially right angle contact with the flat bottomof the recess inthe frame for the principal cushioning action and incidentalsealing, andto have the inclined side of the other longitudinal bead make wipingcontact with the edgeof the door frame adjacent the recess principallyfor sealing and incidentally some cushioning. The inclined bead,furthermore, compensates for irregularities at different points on theframe so as to be certain of a continuous seal all around the door.

Another object consists in the provision of novel retaining means for astrip of the character described.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-Figure 1 is a side view of an automobile '5 equipped with doorcushioning and sealing means in accordance with my invention;

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sections on the correspondingly numbered linesof Figure 1 looking in the directions of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5 showing a modification of theapplication of the strip, and

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail corresponding to a portion 01' Fig. 2illustrating a retainer for the cushioning and sealing strip.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughoutthe views.

The door 10, mounted on the usual hinges 11,

is in accordance with my invention provided with a cushioning andsealing strip 12 on the inside of its outwardly projecting marginalflange 13. The flange 13 is on the exterior of the door, and

the door frame 14 has a continuous marginal recess 15 to receive thisflange so that the outside of the door comes substantially flush withthe outside of the body whenclosed. The flush relationship is preferablymaintained at all points except along the top of the door as disclosedin Fig. 2, the body being preferably formed at that point to projectoutwardly beyond the plane of the outside of the door so as'to preventdrainage into the joint between the door and body, without the use of aseparate gutter or drip channel otherwise necessitated over the top ofthe door.

The strip 12 will ordinarily be provided all the way around the door butmay be provided only in sections and still afford some of the benefitsof my invention. The continuity of the strip is indicated in dottedlines in Figure 1 and is clear from Figs. 2-5, taken through the top,front, bottom, and 40 rear edges, respectively, of the door. The strip12 is preferably of molded sponge rubber, because that material I foundhas the desired softness and resilience to compress readily for sealingpurposes and have the requisite spring back for cushioning purposes.Naturally, since this strip extends for such distances as described,thus greatly distributing the force incident to door closing, thecross-section may be reduced to the extent indicated and still give thedesired cushioning and sealing action. The strip 12 is cemented, orotherwise suitably secured, at the back thereof to the inside 16 of theflange" 13, and is preferably generally V-shaped in cross-section so asto provide two longitudinal beads 17 and 18 for contact with the doorframe along two substantially parallel lines. In that way, I obtain adouble seal which is more effective from the standpoint of weatherprotection, and the double contact .means further distribution of theforce applied to the strip in cushioning the closing of the door, sothat there is less likelihood of breaking down the material of thestrip. More speciflcally stated, the bead 17, which is outermost, makessubstantially right angle contact with the flat bottom 19 of the recess15 for the principal cushioning action and incidentally sealing. Theother bead 18 has an inclined side face 20 which, in the closing of thedoor, makes wiping contact with the edge 21 of the door frame adjacentthe bottom 19 of the recess, principally for sealing and incidentallyfor some cushioning action. The inclination of the side of the bead 18also insures a continuous seal all around the door because even thoughthe joint 22 between the door and frame may not be uniform all aroundthe door, the strip may be placed far enough toward the outer edge ofthe flange 13 to insure some portion of the inclined face 20 of the bead18 contacting the edge 21 for sealing purposes. The

bead 18 will flex laterally toward the peripheral frame asclearly'appears in Figs. 2-5.

It should be clear from the foregoing description that I have provided astrip which, in its.

cushioning action, makes the provision of the ordinary rubber bumperblocks on the door jambs entirely unnecessary, thus avoiding the expenseof applying retainers on the pillars or the necessity of cutting intothe pillars to form retainer sockets therein. The strip provided inaccordance with my invention moreover completely seals the door againstthe weather, which, of course, is a function lacking in the old stylebumpers and which had to be taken care of by some other means and was,as pointed out above, unsatisfactorily taken care of in the past byprojecting portions of the interior upholstering. This strip effects apositive seal at the outermost portion of the joint between the door andframe and in that way not only protects the passengers from the draftsbut also excludes rain or snow from the joints, which, as pointed outabove, was frequently the cause of a door freezing'in place and makingit difflcult, if not impossible, to open the same.

A further advantage of this invention to which attention was not calledbefore is the fact that the compression of the strip between the doorand frame, especially at the hinge side of the door, results in makingthe door tighter than it was ever possible heretofore; that is, the dooris not free to rattle, even though the hinges might have sufficient playtherein to allow rattling otherwise. The compression of the strip, inother words, takes up any play in the hinges as well as at the lock orlatch, and there is accordingly no opportunity for rattling. with doorbumpers as heretofore provided, the door would rattle unless someprovision were made to place the hinges under constraint, and manyaccessories for that purpose have appeared on the market.

Still another advantage of the invention to which reference has not beenmade heretofore, is the fact that the strip not only cushions theclosing of the door but deadens the sound of a" door closing so thatinstead of a tin pan effect, there is the soundandsense of a heavycomposite door closing, even though the door be of light sheet metalconstructibn. 1

In some constructions, the flange on the door at the hinge side of thedoor is not wide enough to permit putting on the strip in the manner ofFig. 5, and in that case the strip, as shown at 12' in Fig. 8, iscemented, or otherwise suitably secured, to the peripheral wall 23 ofthe door with the blunt bead 17' abutting the side of the door frame, asat 24, and the long bead 18' entering the recess 15 to be compressedbetween the bottomwall 19oftherecessandtheflange 13 of the door, whilesealing at 21.

The strip, instead of being fastened in place merely by cementing, may,as shown at 12a in Fig. '7, be mounted in a metal retainer strip 25-welded, or otherwise suitably secured, to the door in the angle betweenthe frame 13 and peripheral wall 23. The retainer 25 is of V-shapedcross-section with inturned longitudinal flanges 26 entering thelongitudinal grooves 27 provided in the strip 120 alongside the beads17a and 18a. The strip 12:: can be entered in the retainer 25 byentering flrst the one flange 26 in the one groove 27 and thencompressing the strip transversely sufllciently to get the other flange26'entered in the other groove, after which the expansion of the stripwill prevent its coming out. If desired, the strip may, of course, alsobe cemented to further insure its staying in place in the retainer.

Reverting to Fig. 4, it will be observed that the peripheral wall 23along the bottom of the door is provided with one or more holes 28 inalignment with holes 29 in the sill 30. This is to allow drainage of anywater that may collect in the door if the glass 31 is lowered while itis raining or snowing.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims havebeen drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications andadaptations.

I claim:

1. In an automobile door construction comprising a door frame having ajamb portion providing an exteriorly exposed edge, a door bumper andweather strip of resilient, compressible material conformed incross-sectionto provide a longitudinal supporting base portion, and twolon-' gitudinal bead portions projecting therefrom with their outeredges in laterally spaced relation so as to straddle the edge of thedoor jamb.

2. In an automobile door construction comprising a door frame having ajamb portion providing an exteriorly exposed edge, a door bumper andweather strip of resilient, compressible material conformed incross-section to provide, a longitudinal supporting base portion, and ashorter compression and a longer flexing bead portion projectingtherefrom lengthwise thereof with their outer edges in laterally spacedrelation so as to straddle the edge of the door jamb.

3. In an automobile door construction comprising a door frame having ajamb portion providing an exteriorly exposed edge, a door bumper andweather strip of resilient, compressible material conformed incross-section to provide a longitudinal supporting base portion, a shortlongitudinal bead portion projecting therefrom substantially at rightangles for compression on the vertical face of the door lamb. andanother longitudinal bead portion projecting farther therefrom at anacute angle with respect to the short bead to frictionally engage theedge of the door jamb.

4. In an automobile door construction comprising a door frame having ajamb portionproviding an exteriorly exposed edge, a door bumper andweather strip of resilient, compressible material conformed incross-section to provide a longitudinal supporting base portion, a shortlongitudinal bead portion projecting therefrom substantially at rightangles for compression on the vertical face of the door jamb, andanother longitudinal bead portion projecting farther there-- from at anacute angle with respect to the short bead .to frictionally engage theedge of the door jamb, the outer edge portion of the longer bead beingenlarged on the side away from the shorter bead, for the purpose stated.

5. In a door and frame construction, a frame having a jamb portionproviding an exteriorly exposed edge, a door having a marginal flangemovable toward the outer face of the door frame in closing, and aV-shaped strip of resilient com-, pressible material carried on theflanged portion of the door and providing two longitudinal beads soformed and related to the door flange and frame, whereby one bead isdirectly compressed between the door flange and the outer face of thedoor frame, and the other bead has wiping contact with the edge portionof the door frame.

6. In a'door and frame construction, a frame having a jamb portionproviding an exteriorly exposed edge, a door having a marginal flangemovable toward the outer face of the door frame in closing, and havingouter peripheral walls disposed in spaced relation to adjacent innerperipheral walls of the frame in the closed position of the door, and adouble ribbed strip of resilient compressible material carried on the.flanged portion of the door sothat one rib is com-. pressed directly, byabutment with the outer face I of the door frame, and the other ribmakes wiping contact with the edgeportion of the frame adjacent saidouter face, said last mentioned rib being formed toprovide an enlargededge portion arranged to be compressed betweenthe outer peripheral wallsof the door and the inner peripheral walls of the door frame.

7. In an automobile body construction having a door hingedly mounted inan opening in the body with ample clearance about the margins of thedoor, a bumper strip disposed on one of the door and body portions so asto cushion the closing of the door, the said strip having a portionentering and closing the marginal clearance a door hingedly mounted inan opening in the body with, ample clearance about the margins of thedoor, a bumper strip carried on the door and arranged to engage the bodyso as to cushion the ,closing of the door, the. bumper strip having a sian automobile body construction having portion arranged to flt in andclose the clearance space between the door and body whereby to provide aweather seal.

10. In an automobile body construction having a door hingedly mountedinan opening in the i hinged on the frame having an edge portion'movabletoward the jamb portion, a door bumper and weather strip on said doorofresilient, compressible material conformed in cross-section to provideone longitudinal bead disposed for compression on a surface of said jambto provide cushioning mainly and incidentally weather sealing, andanother longitudinal bead disposed for wiping contact with anothersurface 'on said jamb mainly for weather sealing and incidentallycushioning. 12. In an automobile construction comprising relativelyhinged door and body portions, the body having a lamb provided thereonand the door having a projecting marginal flange extending around theentire circumference thereof substan tially intthe plane of the outsideof the door movable in the closing of the door toward said jamb, thentire jamb being depressed relative to the planeof the outside of thebody to accommodate said. flange, and a'strip of compressible resilientmaterial mounted directly on the inside of said flange and extendingsubstantially the entire length of the jamb for weather sealing of thedoor at the outermost portion of the joint between the door and body andfor cushioning the door in closing, said strip having engagement withthe jamb and being subject to compression between the flange and jamb inthe closing of the door, whereby to afford the weather sealing andcushioning functions, the entire jamb being degpressed relative to theplane of the outside of the body sufliciently to accommodate the stripand flange so that the outside of the door is substantially flush withthe outside of the body in the closed position of the door. v

. 13. In an automobile construction comprising relatively hinged doorand body portions, the-body having a jamb providedthereo'n and the doorhaving a projecting marginal flange extending around the entirecircumference thereof substantially in the plane of the outside of thedoor movable in the closing of the door toward said jamb, and a strip ofcompressible resilient material mounted on one of said door andibodyportions and extending substantially the entire length thereof forweather sealing of the door at the outermost portion of the jointbetween the door and body and for cushioning the door in closing, saidstrip being subject to compression between the flange and jamb in theclosing of the door, whereby to afford the weather sealing andcushioning functions, the entire jamb being depressed relative to theplane'of the outside of thebody sufllciently to accommodate the stripand flange position of the door. c

14. 'Inan' automobile construction comprising relatively hinged door andbody portions, the body having a jamb provided thereon and the doorhaving a projecting marginal flange substantially in the plane of theoutside of the door movable in the closing of the door toward said jamb,and a strip of compressible resilient material mounted on the inside ofsaid flange for weather sealing of the door at the outermost portion ofthe joint between the door and body and for cushioning the door inclosing, said strip having engagement with the Jamb and being subject tocompression between the flange and jamb in the closing of the door,whereby to aflord the weather sealing and cushioning functions, thejambbeing depressed relative to the plane of the outside of the body toaccommodate the strip and flange so that the outside of the door issubstantially flush with the outside of the body in the closed positionof the door, the jamb being formed to provide two surfaces insubstantially right angled relationship meeting in an exteriorly exposededge, and said strip being formed and disposed for engagement with bothsurfaces in the closing of the door.

15. An automobile construction as set forth in claim 13 wherein the bodyis formed adjacent that portion of the jamb along the top of the door soas to project outwardly beyond the plane of the outside of the door forthe purposedescribed.

16. In an automobile constructio'n'comprising '7 relatively hinged doorand body portions, the body having a Jamb provided thereon and the doorhaving a projecting marginal flange extending around the entirecircumference thereof substantially in the plane of the outside of thedoor movable in the closing of the door toward said jamb, the entirejamb being depressed relative to the plane of the outside of the body toaccommodate said flange, and a strip of compressible resilient materialcarried on the inside of said flange and extending substantially theentire length thereof for weather sealing of the door and for cushioningthe door in closing, said strip having a base portion mounted directlyon the inside surface of the flange, the base portion being proportionedand disposed so as to cover said flange substantially to the outer edgethereof, the strip having engagement with the jamb and being subject tocompression between the flange and lamb in the closing of the door,whereby to afford the weather sealing and cushioning functions, theentire lamb being depressed relative to the plane of the outside of thebody sufliciently to accommodate the strip and flange so that theoutside of the door is substantially flush with the outside of in theclosed position of the door.

JAMES R. HUGHES.

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